Welcome to the Public Health Division

The City of Berkeley Public Health Division is dedicated to ensuring the health and well being of Berkeley residents. We are public health nurses, community health outreach workers, doctors, health educators, office support staff, health policy specialists and other health professionals.

Berkeley is fortunate to be one of only three cities in the State of California with the distinction of being our own health jurisdiction. Most health jurisdictions are the responsibility of the county and that comes with a huge area to serve. Having our own City health jurisdiction means more individualized, higher quality services for our residents. This means more resources for better programs and services to meet your needs. We believe every person in Berkeley has the right to good health.

What We Do

Some of the ways we work to protect your health include:

We give shots to babies and children to prevent diseases such as polio, diptheria, measles and hepatitis B.

We join with merchants, parents and school officials to reduce teenage smoking by not selling cigarettes to minors.

We provide women with a safe place to make decisions about family planning and providing pregnancy prevention services.

We help residents understand how to protect children from lead poisoning.

We provide people in physically abusive relationships with information, referrals and assistance with getting help.

We have a nurse for residents to call when they have health related questions.

We help residents understand how to reduce the risk of getting a sexually transmitted disease.

We educate children and teenagers about how wearing a bicycle helmet can protect them from injury.

We give pregnant women and their babies nutrition information and access to healthy foods.

These are just a few of the ways we work to protect the health of Berkeley residents and those who visit our City.

The Berkeley Public Health Division is mandated to ensure and enhance the health of our community. We are responsible for fulfilling core public health functions, including:

We work hard to include community input in all of the services we offer. We also work with Berkeley neighborhoods and communities to define their specific health needs and public health concerns.

Vision, Mission and Values

Vision

Healthy people in healthy communities

Mission

The mission of the Berkeley Public Health Division is to achieve and maintain optimal health and well being for all people in Berkeley. We do this by working in partnership with our diverse communities to: promote healthy behaviors and environments, prevent illness and injury, protect against disease and other emerging health threats, eliminate health inequities, and advocate for social and environmental justice.

Values

We believe that we can best achieve our goals if our work reflects these values:

JusticeThe achievement of optimal health requires that we work with partners to advocate for social and environmental justice; address key social determinants of health such as poverty, racism, and all forms of discrimination; and work with our community to attain access for all to quality education, housing, economic opportunity, sustainable communities, and health care.

EqualityWe strive to eliminate health inequities in all of our work. We value diversity and are committed to treating every individual - in our workplace and community - with respect and human dignity.

Community EngagementWe believe that residents know their needs and communities best, and that we cannot create a healthy city without engaging in a true partnership with community members. We need to build on community assets and strengthen community capacity.

CollaborationPublic health works best if we partner across programs within our Division, with other agencies in the City and State, with educational institutions, and with the many community based organizations and community groups that share our goals.

PreventionPrimary prevention offers the best opportunity for optimizing the health of our community. While we act across the spectrum of prevention, our focus is on primary prevention. Healthy people live in healthy communities and healthy environments. We seek to support and implement social, environmental, and policy changes that improve the health of neighborhood, community, and environment.

Integrity and AccountabilityWe recognize our responsibility to make efficient and productive use of public resources. We base our actions on the best available evidence about interventions that are effective. We measure our performance and evaluate our programs. We strive for transparency in decision-making and information sharing.